Is My Employer Required To Give Me Sick Leave?
California law mandates that employees who have worked at least 30 days in a year for the same employer are eligible to receive paid sick leave. Employees will accrue one hour of paid leave for every 30 hours worked, but employers can cap the amount of accrued leave at 48 hours or six days. The law also requires that an employee work for their employer for 90 calendar days before they can begin using their accrued sick leave. The employer can opt to make three days of paid sick leave available to employees at the beginning of the calendar year. If an employer chooses this method, they are not required to provide more leave time. Some employers may follow this plan to avoid the administrative task of calculating paid leave.
Unused Leave
Employers are not required to pay unused sick leave to an employee who leaves the company. However, if an employee is rehired within one year, then their accrued leave must be reinstated.
Those Not Eligible For Paid Leave
Some employees have been exempted from the provisions of the sick pay law. These are employees covered by a collective bargaining contract, certain air carrier employees, and persons employed in the California In-Home Support Services Program.
How Eligible Employees Use Their Leave
Although it seems contradictory to the law which provides for up to 48 hours of sick leave a year, employers can limit the use of paid leave to 24 hours or 3 days in a calendar year. Employers can require their employees to use leave in a minimum of two-hour increments, but employers cannot require employees to take a specific amount of sick leave that is more than two hours. This means that an employer cannot require an employee to use their sick leave in 8 hour increments for example.
Reasons For Taking Sick Leave
Employees are allowed to use their sick leave for their health concerns or the health concerns of a family member and preventative treatment is an eligible concern. The law defines “family member” broadly to include a spouse, domestic partner, parent, child and just about any other person who is considered to be related by law or by marriage.
How Sick Leave Will Be Paid For
The employee must be paid for their eligible leave on the next pay date following the use of the sick leave. An employee is not required to tell their employer why they need leave. An employee has a right to protect their privacy by not having to disclose their medical condition. Employers must provide employees with a notice about their available paid sick leave. This notice must be provided to the employee for each pay period either on the pay stub or in a separate written notice.
If you, or someone you know, are facing legal issues in the workplace United Employees Law Group has answers, Call Today for your free and confidential case review. Please feel free to CONTACT US with any questions about this blog or your exact situation.
Photo Credit: Shutterstock/Subbotina Anna